In Focus: ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ movie review: Magnificent Sally Field provides ballast to the tale of love and loss

A still from the film | Photo Credit: Netflix A lonely woman forming a bond with a preternaturally clever octopus has the very real danger of tipping into twee. directed by Olivia Newman (Where the Crawdads Sing), carefully walks the thin line between sanded down Hallmark moments and genuine human connection, and mostly succeeds.Remarkably Bright Creatures (English)Director: Olivia NewmanCast: Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Colm Meaney, Alfred MolinaStoryline: A grieving woman finds meaning in life with the support of a very clever octopusRuntime: 111 minutesWhile trading the rich interiority of Shelby Van Pelt’s 2022 novel for outward‑facing visual cues, Remarkably Bright Creatures holds one’s attention thanks mainly to the magnificent Sally Field, who plays Tova, the grieving mum at the centre of the story.Set in the fictional coastal town of Sowell Bay, Washington, Remarkably Bright Creatures tells the story of Tova, whose son Eric, vanished while sailing 30 years ago., Remarkably Bright Creatures The fact that the anchor line was cut could point to death by suicide, even though Tova is sure it was an accident that killed her boy. She lost her husband to cancer a couple of years ago. A still from the film | Photo Credit: Netflix Not one to sit around and mope, Tova works at the local aquarium as the cleaning lady, which is where we meet the second protagonist of the story, a Giant Pacific Octopus named Marcellus.The fact that Alfred Molina, Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man is the voice of Marcellus, could have felt precious but since Marcellus is so clever (“Humans. you are dull and blundering., For the most part But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures”) we are willing to forgive it. New information indicates that, Molina’s voice work is excellent, on the right side of curious and contained.A young man, Cameron (Lewis Pullman), drifts into town looking for his father, completing the third angle of the triangle., Also According to recent reports, When Tova sprains her ankle while trying to support Marcellus get back to his tank, Cameron is hired as a temp.Tova shows him the right way to clean the glass and get gum off the floor. from her friends in the knitting club, The Knit-Wits (har har) to Ethan (Colm Meaney), a Scotsman who runs the only grocery store in town, and a dedicated Deadhead with a hopeless passion for Tova.Everything that can go wrong for Cameron does., It is a time of change for the people around Tova His mum dies of an overdose, making him a beat‑up camper, which sets him off on a trip to Sowell in search of his father. which has broken up and moved on.In Sowell, he meets Avery (Sofia Black‑D’Elia), with whom he might want a relationship but proceeds to mess it up in multiple ways., He is also the lead guitarist in a Seattle band There is a truth which Marcellus sees way before either Tova or Cameron does.Olivia Newman, who wrote the screenplay with John Whittington, has made changes to the book that work sporadically. while the film rushes to slow down., A series would have felt indulgent (unless it were a three‑part miniseries) In a recent development, as does Field’s wonderful performance, which brings Tova to life in all her quirky sadness., Being under two hours works in the film’s favour New information indicates that, A still from the film | Photo Credit: Netflix Pullman (actor Bill Pullman’s son) embodies the wounded bird you want to protect convincingly, and then there is Marcellus, a wonder created through footage of a real octopus, Agnetha, and CGI, who has “more intelligence in a single tentacle than a human does in its entire skull.”Remarkably Bright Creatures is currently streaming on Netflix Published - May 09, 2026 05:38 pm IST